Cobbins’ Block Seals Blues’ Win Over Vipers

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma City Blue (1-0) defeated the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (0-1), 112-109, in its season opener on Friday night.

With 5.0 seconds left in the game, Oklahoma City held a three-point lead in what had been a back-and-forth quarter. Michael Cobbins blocked a potential game-tying shot from Briante Weber to help seal the game.

Cobbins finished with six points, and career highs in rebounds and blocks, with seven and three, respectively.

“The whole game he was good, very reliable defense,” Head Coach Mark Daigneault said. “He really stabilized us, he was excellent.”

OKC led by as many as 14 in the third quarter, but the Vipers closed the quarter on an 11-3 run, leaving the Blue with a 91-85 lead going into the fourth. Markel Brown scored nine of his game-high 21 points in the third.

The Blue trailed 41-32 after the first quarter, but outscored the Vipers by 10 in the second quarter to take a 63-62 lead into the locker room at halftime. Chris Wright scored 12 of his 16 points in the quarter on 5-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc.

Two-way player Daniel Hamilton paced the Blue with six assists to go with 19 points and eight rebounds, while PJ Dozier contributed five points, three rebounds and two steals.